RSSBoating Accident | Orlando Accident & Injury Blog - Part 5
Orlando Boat Dealer Sentenced in Fatal DUI Boating Accident
An Orlando boat dealer accused of operating a boat while under the influence of alcohol and causing a boating accident that killed a 20-year-old woman and injured several other people has been sentenced to spend the next six years in a Florida prison. The accident occurred on Lake Irma in east Orange County in July 2006 and fatally injured a former Amateur Athletic Union basketball star. The State Attorney’s Office reported that the 51-year-old dealer pleaded guilty to several charges in connection with the accident and received his sentence in a recent hearing.
Florida Man Seriously Injured in Alcohol-Related Boating Accident
Orlando boating accident attorney James O. Cunningham would like to remind readers that drinking alcohol while boating on Florida waterways dramatically increases the chances that you will be involved in a boating accident. He urges everyone to take a boating safety course or refresher course, refrain from drinking while boating and observe all speed limits, no-wake zones and other safety measures to make area waterways safer for everyone. The following post about a Florida boating accident illustrates the dangers of drinking while boating very well.
Authorities Seek Help From the Public in Florida Hit-and-Run Boating Accident
Florida Fish and Wildlife Investigators have recovered the boat that struck and injured two people in a hit-and-run boating accident, but they are asking for the public’s help in finding the person or persons responsible for the accident. Investigators found the 25-foot WhiteWater boat on Sunday, July 29th, in the Dinner Key Marina, but they do not have much information regarding who was piloting the vessel when it struck the two victims. Earlier that day, the boat slammed into a 13-foot Boston Whaler, and the collision wounded the two people aboard the smaller boat, one of them seriously.
2012 a Deadly Year for Florida Boating Accidents
So far this year, 28 people have been killed in Florida boating accidents, and safety officials are concerned that that number could climb significantly during the busy summer boating season. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) recently issued a report, which indicates that our state’s coastal waters are especially dangerous for boaters, particularly those who don’t wear a life jacket or are passengers on a boat piloted by someone who has not taken a boating safety course. Orlando boating accident attorney James O. Cunningham is alarmed at the numbers of people killed and injured in Florida boating accidents this year and urges everyone to wear a life vest and exercise extra caution on the water.
An Orlando Boating Accident Attorney’s Guide to Boating Under the Influence (BUI) Penalties
Orlando personal injury lawyer James O. Cunningham has seen and assisted a lot of Florida boating accident victims over the nearly four decades since he began practicing law. Sadly, many of these accidents were caused by negligent boaters who operated their vessels while under the influence of alcohol. Florida has more than 11,000 square miles of waterways. In 2011, there were at least 25 confirmed cases of accidents caused by boating under the influence of alcohol or BUI. These accidents resulted in dozens of injuries that required trips to the emergency room. In order to raise awareness about the risks of BUI and help make Florida waterways safer for the upcoming busy summer boating season, Mr. Cunningham has compiled a list of criminal penalties for boaters who drink while operating their vessels.
FWC Claims Excessive Speed and Inexperience Led to Recent Fatal Florida Boating Accident
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) officials recently closed their investigation into one of two fatal boating accidents and found that excessive speed and a boater’s inexperience were contributing factors. The 53-year-old victim of one of the accidents died from injuries after being ejected from his watercraft and struck by another during a boating exhibition on Lake Dora. The fatal accident occurred on March 17 during the Classic Raceboat Association’s annual Spring Thunder Regatta. The victim was operating his speedboat when it struck the water at a dangerous angle, throwing him from his vessel. He was struck a few seconds later by a nearby boat and died instantly from his injuries.
Florida Wrestler Who Survived Horrific Boating Accident Returns to Competition
Andrew Hudson is a very fortunate young man, but he certainly didn’t think so last July when he was severely injured in a boating accident. The Winter Springs student suffered multiple injuries, including a broken rib, deep lacerations in his left arm that cut a tendon and triceps muscle, a shattered left elbow, spinal fractures and five large gashes across his back. The accident report filed by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission said that Hudson was tubing with his brother on the St. Johns River near Fruitland in Putnam County last July when the accident occurred. Their father was driving the boat towing Hudson and his brother in inner tubes when he made some ill-advised maneuvers and turned the boat toward his sons.
One Man Killed in Lake County Florida Boating Accident
A man from Martin County was struck and killed recently during a boating event in Lake County. Fifty-three-year-old Mark Van Winkle and a woman, Lorraine Moody, were ejected from their boat while participating in the Classic Race Boat Regatta on Lake Dora in Tavares, according to Joy Hill, spokeswoman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. It has been reported that the event is not a competition but a showcase for vintage boats since none of the vessels can legally race. It was the sixth annual event, which attracts 8,000 to 10,000 people including spectators, vendors and participants who are all eager to kick off the boating season.
One Person Killed, Another Injured in Florida Boating Accident
Accident investigators from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation (FWC) are investigating a Florida boating accident that claimed the life of one man and critically injured a woman. They say the 41-year-old man and 45-year-old woman were southbound in the Intracoastal Waterway near Hollywood around 1:40 a.m. recently when their boat crashed into a seawall head-on. The impact split the boat’s hull in half, pinning the man against the seawall and hurling the woman into the water. The crash occurred in an area marked as a no wake zone, where boats are expected to travel slowly and operators are supposed to exercise extra caution.
Labor Day Weekend Caps Busy Summer For Safety Officials on Central Florida Waterways
The Labor Day weekend traditionally ends the most dangerous time for boaters in Central Florida and throughout the state. The vast majority of boating accidents and the deaths and injuries they cause occur between the busy Memorial Day and Labor Day weekends, and officers have been especially diligent about negligent boaters this summer. Over that period of time this past summer, officers arrested no less than 50 boaters for boating while intoxicated in Central Florida, with half of the arrests happening in Volusia County alone.
Mr. Cunningham is an excellent and knowledgeable attorney.